Center for a New American Security

• The New York Times Idea of the Day blog points to “Too Little Water” as Pakistan’s future problem.
• Foreign Policy profiles the environmental disasters you may or may not have been following this year.
• France announced plans to have 3,000 MW of offshore wind energy generation by 2015, CleanTechnies blog reported.
• The Obama administration’s offshore drilling ban has been overturned again by a federal judge, according to UPI.
• UPI also reports that geothermal energy is gaining attention.  

• Exelon, an energy company specializing in nuclear energy plants, is shifting gears and investing in wind power, the New York Times Green Inc. blog reports.
• The EPA and the Department of Transportation have announced new fuel-economy ratings that reflect a vehicle's fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions by giving the vehicle a letter grade. The ratings also display its 5-year fuel savings and annual fuel cost, according to USA Today.
• From NPR: Hawaii is suffering through a two-year drought that has fueled wildfires and destroyed crops.
• The New York Times is also reporting that the independent review panel tasked to review the IPCC, the UN's climate body, recommended to the United Nations that it revise the way it manages its assessments of climate change. However, it concluded that despite recent errors and criticisms of the IPCC's work, it has been "successful over all."
• According to Reuters, wheat planting is at risk in Pakistan after severe flooding damaged 3.6 million hectares of standing maize, rice, cotton and sugar cane.

Hydrocarbon finds in Greenland by Cairn Energy have sparked excitement in Nuuk, reports The Guardian.

The New York Times reports that the floods that have innundated Pakistan have disrupted the main supply lines for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's government is "seriously concerned" about the threat of epidemic diseases spreading in the flood-hit country, especially water-borne diseases like cholera, diarrhoea and dysentery, according to BBC.

The Washington Post reports that a study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found that petroleum-eating microbes have reduced the Gulf oil plume by half about every three days.

Iran has begun offshore oil production from the Hengam oil field in the Persian Gulf, from UPI.

Foreign Policy reports that India and China's rapidly urbanizing cities will put a strain on water and energy resources. 

Crop failures during the 2005 food shortage in Niger, as compared to 2004.  This year's crisis is predicted to be worse.

Photo: NASA-Earth Observatory

For the past few weeks, the world news has been filled with stories natural disasters affecting the lives of millions: of floods in Pakistan and China, drought and fires in Russia.  Here's another side to the 'fires and floods' story (and another way that climate change could potentially be affecting the lives of millions of people right now): in Niger, NPR reports that protracted droughts and floods are causing food shortages and a building hunger crisis that will affect nearly 8 million people, or about half of the country's total population.  According to a regional spokesman from the UN's World Food Program, "because of failure of crops, because of erratic and late rainfall and the protracted drought, the whole region has been suffering a food crisis... the main reason why the people are suffering is that because of the [typical August] lean season being this year longer than usual — imagine that being protracted for six months instead of three." The UN agency has been coordinating with other international and local aid organizations, as well as Niger's military, to provide emergency food aid.  Despite the government and relief organizations raised concerns about a potential crisis back in November, a lack of funding has rendered the response inadequate to the scope of the problem.  This lack of funds has forced the WFP to make tough decisions: according to the report, "only children younger than 2 and their families will receive protein-rich nutrition distributions from the agency."

This portending crisis should of course be of concern to the US government for moral reasons.  But just as a slow humanitarian response in flood-ravaged Pakistan could ultimately become a security threat to the United States, weakening the central government and allowing insurgent and terrorist groups greater leeway to act, so could famine in Niger prove to be a greater problem for the United States.  The government, installed this February after a military coup, has already failed to protect aid workers from attacks by an Al Qaeda affiliate.  Floods, drought and other natural disasters this August have not only become humanitarian disasters in many cases, they have also caused a marked decrease in government control and security-as, for example, Pakistani citizens have accused their government of being unable or unwilling to act to avert the crisis following massive floods there.  This should make climate change negotiations in Cancun this December-primarily focused around funding for climate mitigation and adaptation measures-all the more urgent.

Stars and Stripes reports that the U.S. military opposes the use of force in the South China Sea and will maintain its presence in the region for years to come.

The United States and others ramp up aid efforts, sending supplies to victims of floods in Pakistan even as the UN reports that efforts may fall short, from AP.

The New York Times reports that mining magnates in India are accused of illegal mining and political corruption.

The Times also reports on research for new sources of clean alternative energy.

From Haaretz: new gas discoveries have not calmed fears that fossil fuel energy sources are running out in Israel.